Hunting for heroes

WASILLA — They showed up to see some of their heroes — country music artists Aaron Tippin and Rick Monrow, NFL Hall-of-Famer Gary Zimmerman, TV personality Colorado Buck and even Joe Wurzelbacher (aka Joe the Plummer).

In a fitting change of roles, the celebrities hailed wounded soldiers as inspirational Saturday. The musicians, athletes and personalities said U.S. service men and women like Staff Sgt. Erica Thill are their heroes.

“These guys very much are the heroes,” said Monrow. “I mean, we just play music. We don’t cure cancer, so we put it in perspective like that. These guys are the ones out there putting their lives on the line, so there’s nothing but respect for that. The deserve everything we can give them, and more.”

Monrow and the other celebrities were part of an event Saturday at the Wasilla Sportsman’s Warehouse to benefit Alaska’s Healing Hearts, a Valley-based organization that provides outdoors adventures for wounded veterans. Thill was one of those veterans benefiting from a bear hunt this past week.

Thill was injured last November while stationed in Afghanistan, and has been rehabilitating to return to duty. She also was one of the lucky ones to bag a bear near the end of the hunt at about 1:30 a.m., Saturday.

“This was my first time bear hunting,” she said, adding while the Army has great weapons training, it doesn’t cover taking down a bruin. “No, they don’t train you to shoot bears in the Army. Targets, yes, but not bears.”

Taking down the bear was exciting, she said. “My heart was beating like there was no tomorrow. The adrenaline was flowing.”

More than the excitement of bear hunting with popular musicians and athletes, Thill said getting out with other veterans who share her struggles was therapeutic.

“I was helpful being with other people who can relate with your situation,” she said. “They were injured also, so they know what you’re going through and all that.”

That doesn’t mean she didn’t enjoy making the trip with the celebrities, whom she described as simple, down-to-earth people who didn’t expect any special treatment.

“They were just like everybody else, so nice and friendly,” she said. “It was nice to be around them. They went out hunting with us, chopped wood, it was great. It meant a lot to us that they come out to support us. It lets us know that we’re being supported here while we’re back out being deployed or whatever.”

That’s the point, said Wurzelbacher, himself a U.S. Air Force veteran who became known as “Joe the Plumber” during the 2008 presidential campaign. He’s also vice president for Alaska’s Healing Hearts.

“We’re out there to help them, hanging out with them one-on-one,” he said of the goal of the outings. “I’m a veteran, so I love the military. These guys, what they do every day, there’s just not enough thanks out there.

“I hate the word ‘deserve,’ I can’t stand the word ‘deserve,’ but if there’s one group of people in this country that deserve anything, it’s veterans.”

Wurzelbacher bagged a bear last year, but spent most of this year’s hunt at the base camp washing dishes and chopping wood. And yes, he’s really a plumber.

“I was doing some plumbing at the lodge, as a matter of fact,” he said. “I grew up in a contracting family, I was a plumber in the Air Force … so I’m about as plumber as you can get.”

For Zimmerman, a hall of fame offensive lineman with the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos, the experience was a good reminder that the real heroes are those who often don’t get accolades or press clippings.

“I’m grateful to live in this country and I’m grateful for what these guys do every day,” he said.

What affected him the most, Zimmerman said, was listening to the stories the veterans had to tell of their service and experiences.

“Hearing their stories just makes you proud,” he said. “The news coverage doesn’t always make me proud, but when you hear it from these guys, it just makes me proud.”

While some of the celebrities and veterans had just returned from a hunt Saturday afternoon, another group was preparing to go, including Spec. Adam Wiltse.

Originally from Washington state, the Army specialist was injured while serving in Afghanistan in 2009.

“I took a hit to the head and hurt my neck and whatnot,” he said. Rehab has been going pretty well, he said.

He first heard of Alaska’s Healing Hearts and that he might have an opportunity to go on a bear hunt about six months ago, Wiltse said. That the group serves wounded veterans “lets you know there’s something you can do after you get hurt,” he said. “I tried bear hunting back home in Washington, but never saw one while hunting, so this is a great experience for me to go out with the bait and the stands and guides and everything. It will be a new experience.”

While he appreciates the chance to be with other wounded veterans, this Memorial Day weekend he’s also thinking of those who never returned or are still serving.

“I’m thinking about some of my friends who didn’t make it back and I think about my other friends who are still serving. My best friend’s at Fort Bragg, so I think about them a lot.”

Also thinking about the sacrifices veterans make is Tippin, a popular country music artist who was mobbed with autograph and photo requests Saturday.

“What I observed was that it helps having that opportunity to gather around the campfire with other vets and talk about things they did over there,” Tippin said. “I think that’s the healing, that’s the therapy. You know, I’m a lucky guy. I’ve been on the battlefield (performing for troops) nine times and met a lot of vets, and heard some horrific stories. It’s incredible the courage these people have and how they display it. Man, it’s rewarding to see. The rest of us pilgrims, we just step back.”

So, what’s Thill going to do now that she’s bagger herself a bear?

“I’m going to make a rug out of him,” she said.

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.